They say that you will never truly understand the beauty of life until you experience it yourself. You won’t be able to discover what it is that you love until you have done the things that you have imagined. You would get a large variety of answers if you asked everyone what the definition of happiness was. However, they would most likely be something similar to living a long, healthy, and blissful life. Our own meanings of happiness are bound to be diverse because we’re all so different.
I think that Christopher McCandless’ explanation of happiness would have been plain simple. He simply wanted to just find himself. He just wanted to be Alexandar Supertramp, not someone his parents wanted him to be, nor someone society expected him to be. He wanted the primitiveness of life itself, the beauty of nature, and freedom from what society tells us is necessary in order to survive. Christopher was not insane, ‘lost’, or suicidal when he decided to leave everything behind to venture to Alaska.
To many, Christopher was ‘lost’ in every sense. Many believed that his future wasn’t going anywhere it should have headed. He chose to make a contribution to a charity with the money that was in his college fund, casted off all his family, and began a trip all over instead of doing ‘normal things’ he should have been
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This makes his story more heartbreaking in my opinion. Because he was carrying numerous forms of ID on him, he unmistakably wasn’t planning on deserting society forever; he wanted to return hopefully someday. Perhaps he would have written a book about his whereabouts or what he grasped about the significance of life while absorbed in the wild. Maybe he would have justified why he never contacted his parents. Although Chris inspired many people from his Alaskan expedition, he could have inspired so many more if he had survived. However, no one probably would have known his story if he had
When Chris McCandless tragically died in the Alaskan wilderness in 1992, his unexpected disappearance provoked a torrent of questions about his motivations and why he left his family to journey into the wild without any trace. His story told in the book, “Into the Wild,” sparked the interest of people around the nation and warned them of the risks of adventure. In this essay, I will explore whether Chris was justified in leaving his family and going into the wild without a trace. Many can argue that Christopher J. McCandless was right to depart with his family.
With all the information gathered, I believe that Chris made a mistake of going out into the Alaskan wilderness because he lacked supplies, didn't have enough knowledge of our natural survival, and he didn't have a map. One of the largest reasons Chris’s adventure turned fatal was because he lacked supplies like food. Hence
But this does not define Chris for he was able to make friends on his journey to Alaska showing he was right in the mind and aware of his position in life. Chris was definitely a one of a kind being. Chris McCandless was a very antisocial person, always avoiding the social norms and following his own path. He had excellent grades but did not even want to go to college. Forced by his father, Walt McCandless, Chris attended Emory University where've made the deans list and graduated in four
But, most of all I would like to know what exactly was he thinking when he first started traveling. I specially would not judge him because one does not know what exactly has one lived. So after all I don’t think I would have overreacted if I encounter him I would just like to comprehend his point of the Alaskan Odyssey. In conclusion, Chris McCandless changed many life’s
No one took the time to recognize his desires of freedom and solitude, which is why many were shocked when they found him missing. Merriam-Webster defines life as an overall vision of or attitude toward life and the purpose of life. McCandless’ view on life was extraordinary and he only lived the life he thought was suitable; he appreciated the underrated belongings of life itself and longed for a greater good. One may judge his decisions on foolhardy behavior, but McCandless knew what he wanted and went for it without reflection on others’ notions. “it is easy, when you are young, to believe that what you desire is no less than what you deserve, to assume that if you want something badly enough, it is your God given right to have it” (Krakauer 155) In any case, Chris McCandless was recklessly bold and did what most could not.
The Ignorance of Chris McCandless One day Chris McCandless decided to forget his whole present life and throw it all away. I don’t see how he could be so comfortable running away into the wilderness in Alaska. I think he already had a good life and could of had a better life. Chris was a young educated man who graduated from Wilbert Tucker High School and Emory University. I think his main reason for deciding to leave was because of the way his parents treated him.
Chris McCandless was in his early 20’s, he was the kind of that guy that wanted to learn and experience life without all of the material things. He wanted to be independent from his parents and friends so Chris did something that would be insane for most of us humans but to him, it wasn’t. He went into the wild of Alaska for months, in fact, McCandless even thought he could make it out alive at the end of his journey. As a matter of fact, he was known as being a risk taker and enjoyed being out and about in the nature side of the world. Many would believe that Chris McCandless went into the wild to purposely kill himself; however, I myself believe that McCandless did not do it purposely.
I agree with the author that Chris McCandless wasn’t crazy for going out into the wild. He wasn’t a loner; he chose to be on his own. But Chris could easily make friends. He had the right to travel. All he was trying to do was get away from the corrupt world.
Going out into the wild all by yourself can be nerve wracking and lonely. Jon Krakauer makes Chris McCandless seemed like a noble person who took the initiative to try to go out and live into the wild. The book Into the Wild written by Jon Krakauer, is about a teenager named Chris McCandless leaving society and traveling to Alaska by himself with nothing else but a bag of rice and a small .22 caliber gun. Chris is heroic because he went to Alaska by himself without any knowledge of Alaska and didn’t know any of the dangers of Alaska. One way Krakauer make Chris seem noble is when Chris is about to enter Alaska he tells Gallien “ I’m goin’ to get on up there live off the land,go claim me a piece of the good life” (Krakauer 4).
In the words of John Krakauer “So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.” If asked to describe Chris Mcandless in Into The Wild one could say that he is simply foolish. Chris could have lived a longer life if he would have stayed in the comfort of his own hometown. Chris’ common sense was obliterated by his time in the wilderness. Not only did he throw common sense to the wind, he also went into the wild leaving behind many people who loved and cared deeply about him.
I believe Shaun Callarman whom focuses on Chris McCandless is quite harsh in saying Chris had no common sense and saying that he does not admire him for his courage when Chris McCandless was a brave, wise and intelligent man. He knew exactly what he was getting into when he started his journey on going to Alaska. I think that he wanted to explore the wild and experience a different life other than the one he had. I disagree with Callarman saying McCandless was bright and arrogant at the same time. He had no business going to Alaska but that was his tactic for getting away from society.
’s quote by giving all of his $25,000 worth of savings to charity and setting to Alaska with nothing but a 30- pound backpack. Chris McCandless’s actions were without a doubt made with pure intelligence, with of course having some flaws such as not being physically prepared. The three reasons behind this conclusion are because he knew what he was doing, he made himself one goal to achieve, and practiced his
What McCandless Has Shown Me Chris McCandless was just a normal college graduate just like any other person but then he decided to go into the wild and go travel to all different areas before he went to Alaska. Chris decided to go to Alaska because in his head that’s where he thought there would be no one from society telling him what to do. He thought he wouldn’t have to follow the rules of society or people telling him what to do. He reached Alaska, but the reality of Alaska was different that the romanticized expectation that he had in his mind. He didn’t bring enough food for himself and all he relied on was eating plants and berries from the wild.
He made a lot of mistakes based on arrogance. I don’t admire him at all for his courage nor his noble ideas. Really, I think he was just plain crazy,” shows that Shaun believes Chris had no common sense in his doing for leaving society for the wild. I agree with Callarman’s position of thinking “ he had no common sense” and that he was “bright and Ignorant” because Chris thinks he did not have much to offer in his society, ditched all his possessions to take a trip into the Alaskan Wilderness and did not have much common sense or survival skills. Chris McCandless was very courageous for ditching all his possessions to take a trip in the wilderness.
Happiness can be defined in many different ways depending on who you are talking to. To me, it can be found listening to my favorite music with the volume turned all the way up. Through this experience I am able to immerse myself in something I truly love and be a be a better, lighter version of myself. For some, happiness is living in the moment and experiencing life as it passes, but for others it means living a life of virtue. Though happiness may look different for everyone, it is something that everyone is striving for.